Ratalaika Games has been upping their game for years, bringing interesting small titles to major consoles. Some of the best stuff they’ve been releasing has been indie visual novels and they’re back with another one to suck you in! Aquadine is a heartwarming slice-of-life VN from new developer SoftColors. It’s a teenage love story where you play Robin, a boy whose mother is hospitalized with an unknown disease. His family runs a gondola company in the town of Aquadine and Robin moonlights as a gondolier. However, there’s a bit more drama going on with Robin as well, some that requires a slight suspension of disbelief. No, you won’t find out here because it’s a fun plot point.
Robin has several friends that he slowly becomes close with over the course of the game and as you might expect, those friends can become romantic interests. While this is a kinetic visual novel (i.e. you simply read, no branching choices), you do get to go back to a screen and choose each person you want to romance in order to play through all the possibilities. There’s literally just a screen at a certain point and you return to it after finishing each path.
Now, a bunch of teenagers talking might not seem very interesting for a game, but honestly, Aquadine is one of the best-written VNs that’s popped up recently. The dialogue seems human and realistic, the characters are surprisingly deep once you learn more about them, and the situations are both fun and somewhat realistic. In fact, it’s quite reminiscent of the same slice-of-life vibe that The Language of Love (review here) put off when we reviewed it a couple of years ago. There’s something about the script that just charms the socks right off of you as you play and it doesn’t let up for the whole game.
With four pathways to choose for love, Robin has a lot of options and all of them are interesting. For this review we started with Diana, the loud-mouthed, somewhat crass redhead and then moved on to other choices. Oh, and there are mermaids. Yes mermaids. In addition to being a fun, light-hearted romance, Aquadine gives you the chance to woo a mermaid and tosses in tiny bits and pieces of mythology for the town and its ancient history. As you work your way through the story, Robin becomes more and more interesting and your chosen love interest does too. No one is quite what they seem in Aquadine but that’s more because they’re incredibly authentic characters rather than some big twist. The emotional ups and downs are what you’re here for and they’re simply well-done across the board.
There’s also a fair amount of silliness and more than a bit of cheesecake here. Aquadine certainly doesn’t leave much to the imagination when it comes to candid images of the characters and while it isn’t erotic, some of the pictures are certainly provocative to say the least. This is pure anime fan-service at its cleanest and that’s not a bad thing. Between the writing and the light sexual tension between characters, there’s more than a hint of romance floating around the game but nothing that feels crude or out of place. Every part of Aquadine feels like a fairy tale romance, fitting for a game with mermaids in it.
There’s also a remarkable amount of scenery in the game. Most visual novels, especially indie ones, tend to feature a limited background selection, a handful of character portraits, limited animation, and more. Gloom and Doom which we covered recently (review here), was written extremely well but the backdrops for the game were sub-standard at best. Aquadine bucks that trend and supplies a bevy of gorgeous, high-resolution backdrops, excellent static character images and full body character portraits which react to emotional situations. It’s easy to tell the emotional state of each character, they’re always dressed appropriately to the story, and you can even hit a button to clear the text and view the art itself in its entirety with no on-screen text or menus. For a small visual novel, not only is this extremely uncommon but it’s also a welcome shift away from the standard approach. Aquadine absolutely looks and plays like a AAA visual novel at every point.
But that’s not the only thing that the game nails. The soundtrack is also well above the standard fare here. Aquadine has a subtle, welcoming and relaxing soundtrack that pairs perfectly with the game’s events, rising and falling at crescendo moments and complementing the light, fun feel of the game at every step. While it might not be your cup of tea if you’re putting on the Doom soundtrack in the background, if you like lighter instrumental music, this is one outstanding composition. Load times are also quite fast, the UI design is excellent, and there’s almost no lag time anywhere in the game.
This isn’t a long game though and that might surprise some players. You can complete Aquadine in only 3 or 4 hours if you go at it non-stop and honestly, each path can easily be completed in a single sitting. There’s certainly some replay value with the pathways but you’re not going to be clocking 20 hours in this pleasant romantic romp. The great thing about that is that the developers over at SoftColors wrote to tell a story, not to hit a time expectation and the game feels like it. The story never overstays its welcome, it’s fun to play, and just at the right time there’s a satisfying conclusion. There’s something to be said for telling a story and finishing it and that’s exactly what you get here. Honestly, there could even have been a bit more information and backstory here and there and it still would have been great, but what you’ll end up with as things wrap up is a grin on your face. That alone is worth the $20 for the game.
Aquadine is a simple game that tells a lovely story that’s part slice-of-life and a bit of coming-of-age, and tosses some fun mythological elements in for good measure. The teens in the game aren’t particularly angsty or angry like other games and stories and this is definitely meant as more for light romantic fun than deeper philosophical introspection, but sometimes a good palate cleanser is just what the doctor ordered and Aquadine absolutely shines in that respect. It’s a great game that’s fun to play, doesn’t last too long, isn’t too short, and is cleverly written for almost anyone to identify with. Don’t hesitate to check it out! If you’re a visual novel fan, you definitely won’t regret it!
This review was based on a digital copy of Aquadine provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and was excellent in both. Aquadine is also available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on Steam.